"The Court of Appeal judgment referred to Mr Stafford's "limited" opportunity to kill Leanne, a lack of motive and his good character. It said he had not had a fair trial, and that the Crown case as put at trial had since been "fundamentally undermined" by further evidence. Criminologist Professor Paul Wilson, who co-wrote a book on the case, said he was delighted for Mr Stafford that he did not have to go through another trial. "On the other hand, it's a great pity that he cannot get the justice he deserves through a complete exoneration," Prof Wilson told AAP. "I'm calling for an investigation into both the police handing of the case and into the CMC (Crime and Misconduct Commission), which failed to find anything wrong in the police investigation."
Reporter Bret Wortman: Sunshine Coast Daily;
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BACKGROUND: (WIKIPEDIA): Graham Stuart Stafford was a sheet metal worker from Goodna, near Ipswich, Queensland who was convicted in 1992 of the murder of twelve-year-old Leanne Sarah Holland. Leanne Holland, the younger sister of Stafford's former partner, Melissa Holland, was murdered in September 1991. Her viciously mutilated body was found three days after she was reported missing in nearby Redbank Plains. It is possible she was also sexually interfered with and tortured with a cigarette lighter. Stafford appealed to the Queensland Court of Appeal, but this appeal was rejected on 25 August 1992. In 1997, the Queensland Court of Appeal re-examined the case after Stafford lodged an application for pardon with the State Governor on the basis of evidence gathered by private detective, Graeme Crowley. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal again by a two-to-one majority on the grounds that there was still enough evidence to convict. Two applications for special leave to the High Court of Australia subsequently failed. Stafford was released in June 2006 after serving over 14 years in prison. Stafford, who was born in England and does not have Australian citizenship despite having migrated to Australia in 1969, faced deportation in November 2006. Some people, including Professor Paul Wilson of Bond University believe that Stafford is a victim of a miscarriage of justice. The Queensland Attorney-General, Kerry Shine, has agreed to closely consider any request on Stafford's behalf concerning a petition to clear him of the murder conviction. In April 2008, the Queensland Attorney-General referred the case to the Court of Appeal for a very rare second appeal for pardon. On December 24, 2009 the Court of Appeal overturned Graham Stafford's conviction and ordered a retrial by a 2-1 majority. The dissenting judge wanted an immediate acquittal...WIKIPEDIA informs us that: "A Brisbane Sunday Mail examination of the police investigation revealed that an Ipswich computer store worker provided information to the police about a man who had entered the store on the same day as Leanne's body was dumped in nearby bushland. The worker claimed that the man had been behaving in a peculiar manner and had blood stains on his hands and trousers when he entered the store. Furthermore, reports of Leanne having been seen alive on the day after the police allege she was murdered were ignored. A report of a vehicle other than Stafford's being sighted near the body was also ignored. Forensic scientist, Angela van Daal, gave evidence at trial that helped convict Stafford of the murder. She has since stated that the blood identified as Leanne's could have come from another family member. Although the frequency of the blood type matching anyone in the general population was only about one percent, the frequency among relatives is as high as 25 percent. Around the time of the murder, Leanne's brother Craig had slashed his hand in a pub fight and had bled freely in the family home. It has also been revealed that another twelve-year-old girl was murdered less than one kilometre away from where Leanne Holland lived within thirteen days of Leanne's murder. The man who was charged with the second murder had been known to Leanne. Furthermore, daughters of a police informant in the Leanne Holland case have come forward claiming their father sexually abused them at the murder site, burnt them with cigarette lighters and showed them crime scene photographs of Leanne's body."
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"SUPPORTERS of Graham Stafford are preparing a bid for compensation, and seeking a new investigation, following the chief prosecutor's decision not to proceed with another trial," reporter Bret Wortman's story published March 26, 2010, published in the Sunshine Coast Daily on March 26, 2010 begins, under the heading, "Graham Stafford will not face retrial."
"Graham Stuart Stafford was jailed for life in 1992 after being found guilty of murdering 13-year-old schoolgirl Leanne Holland when he was aged 28," the story continues.
"He was convicted on circumstantial evidence of using a blunt object to bash to death the sister of his then-fiancee at a home in Goodna, west of Brisbane, on September 23, 1991.
Stafford was released from jail in 2006 after serving almost 15 years.
He campaigned to clear his name, and in December last year the Queensland Court of Appeal ruled that his conviction be quashed and a retrial be conducted.
Queensland Director of Public Prosecutions Tony Moynihan, SC, on Friday announced a retrial would not take place.
"I have consulted with the family of Leanne Holland and the Queensland Police Service and they support my decision that it is not in the public interest to proceed with another trial for a number of reasons," he said in a statement.
These included that Mr Stafford had served his sentence, had been deemed fit for release back into the community and that 20 years had passed since the murder, which had affected the state of the evidence, he said.
The Court of Appeal judgment referred to Mr Stafford's "limited" opportunity to kill Leanne, a lack of motive and his good character.
It said he had not had a fair trial, and that the Crown case as put at trial had since been "fundamentally undermined" by further evidence.
Criminologist Professor Paul Wilson, who co-wrote a book on the case, said he was delighted for Mr Stafford that he did not have to go through another trial.
"On the other hand, it's a great pity that he cannot get the justice he deserves through a complete exoneration," Prof Wilson told AAP.
"I'm calling for an investigation into both the police handing of the case and into the CMC (Crime and Misconduct Commission), which failed to find anything wrong in the police investigation."
Prof Wilson said a compensation bid would be lodged with the Queensland attorney-general.
"It will be very hard because it's not a complete exoneration," he said.
"And the Queensland government has got an appalling record on criminal compensation."
He said the case also showed the need for an independent commission to investigate miscarriages of justice, similar to the UK's Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Prof Wilson said there was a darker side to the case.
"Let's not forget the real killer is still out there - I'm sure of it," he said.
Mr Stafford, who was present for the brief hearing on Friday, told reporters outside the court he was pleased the charges had been dropped.
"I'm hopeful that the authorities will now reopen the investigation into Leanne's murder, for the sake of justice for both Leanne, myself and for both families," he said.
"An open and honest inquiry into the murder investigation is the only way this will ever be resolved and the perpetrator of Leanne's murder will be behind bars."
He said he was discussing a compensation bid with his advisers.
Asked what he felt after 15 years behind bars, Mr Stafford said: "I feel angry that it's taken this long. It should never have taken this long."
Mr Stafford said the case had yet to reach its "full stop".
"(My name's) been cleared but pursuing it until such time as the person responsible is behind bars will probably be the full stop," he said."
The story can be found at:
http://www.dailymercury.com.au/story/2010/03/26/stafford-retrial-wont-go-ahead/
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
